Southend on Sea City Council is a Unitary local authority, providing vital services to meet the needs of the local community. We employ around 1,800 staff who are working alongside our partners and local communities to deliver the city vision and make lives better for the people of Southend.
Working for Southend on Sea City Council offers a challenging and rewarding career in local government within a collaborative and innovate environment, with the benefit of flexible working practices to support a positive work life balance. As a Unitary Authority we are responsible for all local government functions ranging from social services, transport, public health and parks through to planning, trading standards, community safety and education, so we offer a wide range of career opportunities. The diversity of our economy and communities and investment in a number of exciting regeneration projects makes our Council a great place to work, learn and make a difference.
Southend City Council are looking to appoint a full-time, permanent Fostering Senior Placements Officer.
The Placement Officer plays a central and strategic role within the Fostering Service, ensuring that children and young people who require care are matched with the most appropriate in-house foster carers. The purpose of the role is not simply to find a bed, but to facilitate thoughtful, child-centred matching that promotes stability, safety, and positive long-term outcomes. The Placement Officer is responsible for coordinating and leading the day-to-day placement process for children who require short-term, long-term, respite, emergency, or parent-and-child placements. This involves receiving and quality assuring referrals, analysing the child’s needs, and working closely with supervising social workers, children’s social workers, team managers, and commissioning colleagues to identify the most suitable placement options.
A key function of the role is to undertake robust and defensible matching exercises. This means carefully considering the child’s presenting needs, trauma history.
Within this position, hybrid working opportunities are available. However, you are required to be on-site at the Civic Centre a minimum of 2 days a week.
To be shortlisted for this position, you must be educated to degree level and have previous experience within children social care and fostering services.
You are required to have a combination of knowledge, judgement, analytical ability, and strong relational skills. This is a pivotal role that directly impacts placement stability, child outcomes, and foster carer retention. It requires someone who understands both the urgency of placement finding and the importance of thoughtful, child-centred matching.
A successful Placement Officer will have a strong understanding of the needs of Looked After Children, including the impact of trauma, attachment disruption, neglect, and instability. They must be able to interpret referral information critically and identify gaps, inconsistencies, or risks. This includes confidently challenging incomplete referrals and seeking clarification to ensure decisions are based on accurate and sufficient information. The ability to undertake robust matching is central to the role. This involves analysing a child’s needs alongside a foster carer.
This is not a case holding post.
When joining the council, you can enjoy a range of benefits including: 25 days annual leave, flexible working and excellent training and development opportunities. They are committed to ensuring that you are supported in this varied and challenging role with the appropriate level of training. A full list of benefits provided by Southend Council can be viewed on the "Why Work For Us?" tab.
If you are interested in this role, please click 'apply online' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV.
If you would like a copy the Job Description, please Click here
If you are wanting further information that isn't in the JD, please contact Nathalie Nathalie.s@hays.com
Please note: Applications for this vacancy may close prior to the date advertised above so you are advised to apply as soon as you are able to.
All applicants for this role will require an enhanced DBS check.
The Council is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications, regardless of race, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, age or religion or belief.
We are a mid-sized unitary authority in South East Essex with around 1,800 FTE roles, serving a population of 182,500 residents.
We were very proud to be awarded LGC Council of the Year 2012 and have received a number of other awards including Stonewall Top 100 Employer, RoSPA level 5 and Silver IiP.
We exist to create 'a better Southend': our aims are for our city to be 'Safe', 'Clean', 'Healthy', 'Prosperous' and led by an 'Excellent' organisation.
We are very proud of the differences we make and would welcome you considering joining one of our nationally recognised, award winning teams of talented and hard working individuals.
